Who is Zoran Mander?
The Party Suffers a Loss and Makes a Breakthrough
General Summary
It is March 3rd, 1000 PCE. The Party continued exploring the Sanctum of the Silent Terminus and faced a hive of corrupted phthisics. The PCs were victorious, but Rob died during the fighting.
The PCs went back to the Tercelet to bury Rob and regroup. They then returned to Tabazan to keep an appointment with Zoran Mander at the Citizens’ Palace. Mander revealed his knowledge of Precursor lore as well as his support for the Party’s quest. Two new members joined the Party.
When the Party learned they were being slandered by local Vril agitators, they went into the streets to pick a fight.
The PCs went back to the Tercelet to bury Rob and regroup. They then returned to Tabazan to keep an appointment with Zoran Mander at the Citizens’ Palace. Mander revealed his knowledge of Precursor lore as well as his support for the Party’s quest. Two new members joined the Party.
When the Party learned they were being slandered by local Vril agitators, they went into the streets to pick a fight.
Monument to Atarax
When Rob recovered from the chronal displacement trap, he helped the PCs translate the inscription found in front of the obsidian dog statue:
Hail the Fugitive Atarax — The Wild Hunter of Mount Ahriman. Feast on flesh and honour my shrine; Offer me only what is mine.
Realizing that the inscription referred to the cause of his own were-curse, Math acknowledged that he (in some sense) belonged to Atarax and cut his own hand to lay a blood offering before the statue. This being done, a peridot charm hanging from a golden chain slid from the eye of the statue and landed in Math’s hand, and a door opened in the west wall.
Swarm of Phthisics
Math and Rob led their companions into the secret chamber, where they discovered additional sensory deprivation pods as well as a pyramidal control module like the one seen in the great hall in the upper levels of the Voidseal. Rob noticed small circular indentations hidden in the stone walls.
When Rob and Math reached the center of the room, a swarm of ten phthisics materialized and attacked. Cut off from the rest of the Party, Rob was unable to get loose from the mob and was slain. Math fared better, but was still incapacitated during the fighting. The rest of the Party fought their way in through a blocked off corridor, and Darmok used an aura of acid to finish off the regenerating monsters. As the dust settled, the surviving PCs all heard a mental voice:
When Rob and Math reached the center of the room, a swarm of ten phthisics materialized and attacked. Cut off from the rest of the Party, Rob was unable to get loose from the mob and was slain. Math fared better, but was still incapacitated during the fighting. The rest of the Party fought their way in through a blocked off corridor, and Darmok used an aura of acid to finish off the regenerating monsters. As the dust settled, the surviving PCs all heard a mental voice:
The Empyrean Decadron is no more. You may release the second seal.
The PCs decided to wait until clearing the entire pyramid before deciding whether or not to do that.
Inside the deprivation tanks (labeled Iphis and Dorion), the Party found some precious gems and a few valuable psionic items. Darmok did his best to identify a few of these items.
Inside the deprivation tanks (labeled Iphis and Dorion), the Party found some precious gems and a few valuable psionic items. Darmok did his best to identify a few of these items.
Winning the Crowd
The Party emerged from the pyramid and found a large crowd gathered at ground level and observing them. As the PCs approached the crowd, the townspeople started shouting and arguing amongst themselves. Darmok explained that many of the people were saying that the PCs had gone into the Voideseal to unleash the evil held within and that they were responsible for the yellow light, the Deathbringer Wave, and all the misery associated with it.
Edmund, speaking through Darmok, delivered a speech proclaiming the Party’s support for the people and promising that they had gone into the pyramid to stop the troubles, not cause them. The message was well delivered and amplified by the charisma and reputation of its messenger. The people of Tabazan responded by feting the Party with an impromptu street celebration, which took the form of a parade escorting the PCs out of town (while the Tabazan city guards looked on warily).
Edmund, speaking through Darmok, delivered a speech proclaiming the Party’s support for the people and promising that they had gone into the pyramid to stop the troubles, not cause them. The message was well delivered and amplified by the charisma and reputation of its messenger. The people of Tabazan responded by feting the Party with an impromptu street celebration, which took the form of a parade escorting the PCs out of town (while the Tabazan city guards looked on warily).
Rob Remembered
Back at the Tercelet, the Party tended their wounds and administered Rob’s last rites. Albeard assumed the role of officiant, and asked that Rob’s soul be granted grace in its passage into the next life.
Meeting with Mander
That night, the Party returned to Tabazan to receive the hospitality of Zoran Mander. They were permitted to bring their weapons into Tabazan’s citadel, but were warned not to draw them unless they intended to kill or be killed. The PCs were then brought to Mander’s apartments within the Citizens' Palace where they met once more with Darmok and were introduced to a masked monk named Stefan, both associates in the employ of Zoran Mander.
After some refreshments and pleasantries, Mander revealed that he had permitted the Party to take Tobias’s gear not because he expected some compensatory payment, but because he did not want to return the equipment back to the Vril and preferred it to be in the hands of their enemies. As it turns out, Mander was as much a trader in information as chattel goods or archaeological curiosities. He had learned of the PCs’ activities weeks before and followed their progress through scattered reports. What he had learned in these reports had evidently given him reason enough to believe that they were allies in Mander’s own resistance against the Vril and the legacy they represented.
For Mander also revealed himself to be uncommonly versed in the lore of the Precursor empires, the tales of the Watchers, and the mythology of the Void Empyreans. He spoke with great authority on the history of the Voidseal and the corruption of the Silent Terminus. When he admitted that he had immediately recognized the Star Rod on sight, he also correctly surmised the reason why the Party was trying to repair it: to forestall the catastrophe of the impending Great Eclipse. He confirmed that the power of the Phoenix was the only likely way to restore the Star Rod artifact and explained that the Phoenix was said to offer boons to those who would seek it out and find its hidden nest (the Forbidden City, El Dorado, etc.).
This secret had been guarded by the servants of a cosmic being known as the Ego Entity (variously known as the Visitors or Watchers). The Watchers had seen enough of humanity’s weakness to believe that mere mortals were unworthy of the power of the Phoenix, and so they had determined to keep the secret of the nest for themselves (and spent centuries concealing the knowledge through various means, such as mind flaying and the creation of elaborate mythological deceptions). According to Mander, the surest way to obtain the location of the Forbidden City would be to earn the favour of one of these Watchers.
Thinking upon the Puzzle of the Watchers encountered in the Voidseal Great Hall, the Party struck upon the prospect of seeking out the Watcher known as Knight, said to reside in the Mithraeum of Eloy. Consulting a map, Mander demonstrated the approximate location of the Mithraeum, a solar temple lost within a fallow wasteland called the Wastes of Eloy, despoiled and irradiated by the last clashes of the Desert War fought between the late-Precursor empires of Urzen (Arizona) and Orad (Norad). Mander warned that the shifting sands of the Vale would make it hard to explore the wasteland and that the invisible fire of latent radiation would require protective measures. (The Party gained 3 Discovery Points for the Mithraeum of Eloy location.)
The Party took inventory of their HEV gear and asked Mander where more could be obtained. He had none on hand but provided the name of a man in Azoturia who might be able to help: Deacon Bast.
Moreover, Mander pledged his support for the Party’s cause as did his two associates, Darmok Sin-Nasir and Stefan Laukat, who both offered to join the quest. Mander proceeded to examine the unidentified gear from the Voidseal, including the iron crown, which he initially didn’t recognize, but seemed to nonetheless identify in a sudden moment of epiphany. He said the item bore the psychic imprint of a powerful ancient psychokineticist of the Silent Terminus brotherhood (presumably Iphis) and warned that his psychic imprint might possess anyone who unwittingly mishandles the crown.
After some refreshments and pleasantries, Mander revealed that he had permitted the Party to take Tobias’s gear not because he expected some compensatory payment, but because he did not want to return the equipment back to the Vril and preferred it to be in the hands of their enemies. As it turns out, Mander was as much a trader in information as chattel goods or archaeological curiosities. He had learned of the PCs’ activities weeks before and followed their progress through scattered reports. What he had learned in these reports had evidently given him reason enough to believe that they were allies in Mander’s own resistance against the Vril and the legacy they represented.
For Mander also revealed himself to be uncommonly versed in the lore of the Precursor empires, the tales of the Watchers, and the mythology of the Void Empyreans. He spoke with great authority on the history of the Voidseal and the corruption of the Silent Terminus. When he admitted that he had immediately recognized the Star Rod on sight, he also correctly surmised the reason why the Party was trying to repair it: to forestall the catastrophe of the impending Great Eclipse. He confirmed that the power of the Phoenix was the only likely way to restore the Star Rod artifact and explained that the Phoenix was said to offer boons to those who would seek it out and find its hidden nest (the Forbidden City, El Dorado, etc.).
This secret had been guarded by the servants of a cosmic being known as the Ego Entity (variously known as the Visitors or Watchers). The Watchers had seen enough of humanity’s weakness to believe that mere mortals were unworthy of the power of the Phoenix, and so they had determined to keep the secret of the nest for themselves (and spent centuries concealing the knowledge through various means, such as mind flaying and the creation of elaborate mythological deceptions). According to Mander, the surest way to obtain the location of the Forbidden City would be to earn the favour of one of these Watchers.
Thinking upon the Puzzle of the Watchers encountered in the Voidseal Great Hall, the Party struck upon the prospect of seeking out the Watcher known as Knight, said to reside in the Mithraeum of Eloy. Consulting a map, Mander demonstrated the approximate location of the Mithraeum, a solar temple lost within a fallow wasteland called the Wastes of Eloy, despoiled and irradiated by the last clashes of the Desert War fought between the late-Precursor empires of Urzen (Arizona) and Orad (Norad). Mander warned that the shifting sands of the Vale would make it hard to explore the wasteland and that the invisible fire of latent radiation would require protective measures. (The Party gained 3 Discovery Points for the Mithraeum of Eloy location.)
The Party took inventory of their HEV gear and asked Mander where more could be obtained. He had none on hand but provided the name of a man in Azoturia who might be able to help: Deacon Bast.
Moreover, Mander pledged his support for the Party’s cause as did his two associates, Darmok Sin-Nasir and Stefan Laukat, who both offered to join the quest. Mander proceeded to examine the unidentified gear from the Voidseal, including the iron crown, which he initially didn’t recognize, but seemed to nonetheless identify in a sudden moment of epiphany. He said the item bore the psychic imprint of a powerful ancient psychokineticist of the Silent Terminus brotherhood (presumably Iphis) and warned that his psychic imprint might possess anyone who unwittingly mishandles the crown.
Streetfight
Mander also mentioned that there were still Vril agents operating in the city and that they were spreading rumours about the Party’s supposed misdeeds. The Party resolved to put a stop to this smear campaign and went out into the night to seek a confrontation with these mendacious miscreants. Heading straight for the Tabazan Arena where the Vril were supposedly based, the Party told a band of sentries that they wanted their leaders.
When these leaders arrived, the Party recognized the Vril war party they had brawled with back in Lowdown. It was Durance the pit fighter and his friend Umagro. They were all too eager to answer the Party’s combat challenge and joined battle after a brief parlay.
Durance was laid low early in the melee, but Umagro and the others fought on as scattered groups of townsfolk emerged from their homes to watch the PCs fight the Vril interlopers within the ruins of a devastated city block. As Vril heavy infantry dragged Durance’s unconscious body from the fighting, fresh reserves closed in to pin the PCs down in a protracted clash.
When these leaders arrived, the Party recognized the Vril war party they had brawled with back in Lowdown. It was Durance the pit fighter and his friend Umagro. They were all too eager to answer the Party’s combat challenge and joined battle after a brief parlay.
Durance was laid low early in the melee, but Umagro and the others fought on as scattered groups of townsfolk emerged from their homes to watch the PCs fight the Vril interlopers within the ruins of a devastated city block. As Vril heavy infantry dragged Durance’s unconscious body from the fighting, fresh reserves closed in to pin the PCs down in a protracted clash.
Report Date
18 Mar 2023
Monument to Atarax
Swarm of Phthisics
Winning the Crowd
Rob Remembered
Meeting with Mander
Streetfight
Cognizance Crystal 1
Iron Crown
Belt of Hidden Pouches
Ring of Entropic Deflection
Cognizance Crystal 3
Crystal Mask
Mantle of the Void
Two sapphires
Two emeralds
A small diamond
A star sapphire
Comments
Author's Notes
This report recaps the content of sessions played on March 4th and 18th, 2023.